Viggo Mortensen will bring Captain Alatriste to life in the film directed by Agust'n D'az Yanes. He will play a curious main character from a series of five exciting books created by the writer Arturo Pérez Reverte, The New York actor, born in Manhattan 46 years ago, became famous for his role as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings saga and has become an authentic sword-lover since the filming of this trilogy. To prepare for his role, Mortensen has chosen the National Fencing Center in Madrid, where he will take lessons with the foil master Jesús Esperanza, a specialist in ancient fencing techniques. [More]

Belladonna writes: Added to audiblebeauty.net are a couple dozen more photos from Ringers screenings, including the final one this last Thursday night. Despite the drizzly weather we got a pretty good turnout, and I at least both enjoyed the film again and celebrating in the great line party atmosphere. [More]

Jonotrek writes: Dominic Monaghan as a cast member of 'Lost' is featured on one of six covers of TV Guide in the US this week. There is a story on Lost inside of the magazine too. You can purchase all six covers here. [TV Guide] [More]

Jackie writes: It is not yet refelected on their web site but I just got my new issue of Calabasas Magazine in the mail and Sean Astin is featured as the cover story. (February 2005) Sean and his family reside in Calabasas, in fact they are neighbors of ours. Just thought when it's available online you might be interested in providing the link on your wonderful site. Keep an eye out here and it should be appearing soon. [calabasasmag.com]

Film bosses are plotting a sequel to animated movie 'The Magic Roundabout' - even though the first installment has not yet been released. The creators of the $24.3 million (GBP12.8 million) film - based on the cult 1960s BBC TV series - have already signed up Sir Ian McKellen to return as the voice of Zebedee and Kylie Minogue to reprise her vocal duties for Florence. [More]

One of the team who created the Oscar-winning visual effects for The Lord of the Rings is in the running for another 34 centimetre-tall gold statue next month. Joe Letteri, who won visual-effects Oscars for The Two Towers and The Return of the King, as well as a scientific and technical achievement award, has been nominated in the visual effects category for I Robot. The nomination is also the fourth for Wellington's Weta Digital, where Letteri – from San Francisco – has been based for more than three years and is visual-effects supervisor on Peter Jackson's King Kong film. [More]

From Stuff.co.nz: "Responses to the Sunday Star-Times Top 50 Books survey are pouring in. So far there's no clear winner. Yes, Tolkien's doing pretty well, but it's by no means a foregone conclusion that he'll top the list." [More]

Cartoonist John Cook writes: I've added a new Lord of the Rings cartoon spoofing that Two Towers scene where Gimli waits at Helm's Deep, unable to see over the top of the battlements. Check out the cartoon here!

From LA Downtown News: "It was busy last Tuesday afternoon at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) museum in South Park: A dress from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was getting steamed, Peter Parker's Spider-Man outfit was waiting on a pedestal and word was spreading that the Finding Neverland costumes wouldn't arrive until the end of the week." [More]

Ray writes: John Noble will be appearing at our "Hollywood Collectors & Celebrities Show", on February 18th & 19th, as one of our celebrity guests. For more information, please check our web site www.hollywoodcollectorshow.com.

Crimdac writes: Abbey Road Studios are throwing open their doors for a film festival of movies with soundtracks recorded at the studios. The screenings take place during the last two weeks of March. Needless to say the complete Rings cycle is well represented - all three movies will be shown three times during the fortnight. The price is a hefty £15 per movie - but it is Abbey Road. Booking opens on the 3rd February but Guardian newspaper readers can buy tickets from 9am UK time today (29th). [More]

From SFX: 'We salute the backroom boys with our rundown of the best special effects sequences ever – as suggested by you lot! From 1902’s Le Voyage Dans La Lune to last year’s Spider-Man 2, these are the defining moments of over a hundred years of movie magic.' Gollum figures prominently on the cover, but what special effect tops the chart at number one?! You'll have to get the magazine to find out! [SFX.com] [Cover]

From sfgate.com: Sean Astin is set to become a dad for a third time, after announcing to pals his wife Christine is pregnant. According to Star magazine, 31-year-old Astin made the happy announcement to his friends at the Sundance Film Festival. Astin and his wife already have two daughters -- 8-year-old Alexandra and 2-year-old Elizabeth. [More]

The American SciFi Channel is airing the made for TV movie 'Chupacabra: Dark Seas' tonight. The movie stars John Rhys-Davies as Captain Randolpp and centers around Dr. Pena, who traps the legendary Chupacabra on a remote Caribbean Island. He then smuggles it aboard a cruise ship with disasterous results. [More]

Once upon a time, there was ... okay, wrong story - Tolkien doesn't use such hackneyed clichés to introduce his history of Middle Earth. But there is a beginning, and even in the dim, starlit ages before time, forces are at work in Arda which will one day lead a weary, wounded hobbit to the brink of Mount Doom. [More]

From Wired News: Hollywood insiders probably gasped -- the biggest Oscar sweep in history and these guys are partying with geeks! But Jackson and company recognized something essential about the success of The Lord of the Rings: It happened because of its rabid fans.

At least that's the case made by a new documentary, Ringers: Lord of the Fans, which premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival this week in Park City, Utah. [More]

On the second day of ORC Billy Boyd took to the stage to answer fan questions. He was insightful, honest and funny! Take a look at this highlight clip from that day. Thanks Billy! [Quicktime High] [Quicktime Low]

MrCere writes: Here is the Murray Theater marquee located at 50th South and State Street in Salt Lake City which is showing "RINGERS: Lord of the Fans" for the final time as part of the Slamdance film festival. Tickets are still available!

Susanne writes: I just attended Tuesdays book signing of Sean Astin, at Clark State University in Ohio. Sean was there promotion his book, to a full auditorium of over 1,200 fans, of all ages. He was witty and charming, speaking of his life as an actor, his book, the filming of the LOTR movies, and his work with Verizon, promoting literacy. And the crowd was eating up every word, with lots of laughter, cheers and applause. After the one hour presentation he gave hundreds of autographs, staying way into the night, while always smiling and taking the time to talk to each person! An awesome evening, with a wonderful and caring beloved Sean Astin!

PARK CITY, Utah (Hollywood Reporter) - Focus Features made its first Sundance acquisition Wednesday, purchasing North American rights to "On a Clear Day," a British film starring Peter Mullan and Brenda Blethyn. Sources valued the deal at close to $1 million. Mullan plays a middle-aged man who seeks to improve his confidence and fix his strained familial relations by swimming the English Channel. [More]

The folks from Emerald Rose write: We would like to say thanks to all the folks we saw at the ORC convention last week in Pasadena. We had a really great time and met some new friends. Hats off to TORn and Creation Enterprises - it was a well run convention, with interesting displays, workshops and entertainment. Highlights for us included seeing the incredible Sideshow/Weta display - it was stunning, recreating scenes from the movies with the collectible figures. [More]

Veteran British actor Sit Ian Holm is having his image immortalised in a series of portraits - being painted by his artist wife. Sophie De Stempel is aiming to monitor the LOTR star's looks over the coming years and eventually hopes to exhibit her work. But, Holm finds sitting for this wife challenging. He says, "It isn't easy. It involves a lot of concentration but I find it rather therapeutic." [More]

From TheStar.com: "J.R.R. Tolkien created the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he did not create the cult, and that crucial difference is what Carlene Cordova's Ringers is about." [More]

Edit: Thank you to Ringer spy Ascarwen, who rightly points out an error in The Star's story: Tolkien did indeed refer to his legions of fans as his "deplorable cultus," and not, as used in the story, "cultists." Nice catch!

Fantasy games group Games Workshop has reported a slowdown in UK sales as the buzz surrounding the Lord of the Rings trilogy begins to fade. The Nottingham-based firm, which also makes the Warhammer battle game, said UK sales fell to £21 million during the six months to 28 November, from £22.3m a year ago. It blamed the "bubble effect" created by the Rings films since 2001 as enthusiasts flocked to Games Workshop stores, one of which is located on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, to buy a tabletop version of the trilogy. [More]

TORN staffer Garfeimao writes: We had two separate activities going on at ORC to help the American Red Cross. Firstly, the folks at Tolkien Forever housed the fish bowl that acted as a collection point for monetary donations. The end total, including what was collected by Sean Astin during his signing, came to just over $2000. The included picture shows Nicole and Kristi handing over the money box to Diane Drolet of the American Red Cross San Gabriel Valley office. [More]

RWP writes: The Chicago Tribune has a review of Charlie Ross' "The One-Man Lord of the Rings" in Wednesday's edition. Ross' show is a one-man one-hour version of the three movies. We saw his one-man show on Episodes 4-6 of Star Wars and it was great. We plan to see the LOTR show next week. It is playing at the Apollo Theater in Chicago. (Login Required) [More]

MrCere writes: "RINGERS: Lord of the Fans" will play its final time at the Slamdance Film Festival Thursday at 9 p.m.. This will be the final time for Utah audiences to demonstrate to movie studios that fans want to see this film in wide release. [More]

The folks from the Coolidge Corner Theatre write: Before Peter Jackson tackled J.R.R. Tolkien's epic story of Middle Earth, the television animation team of Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass (known for their classic stop-motion holiday specials like RUDOLPH, FROSTY and MAD MONSTER PARTY) took a stab at THE HOBBIT - and produced a cel-animated version that is a certified classic. Featuring the voices of Orson Bean, Otto Preminger, and John Huston as the first great version of Gandalf, the film also terrified many a 9-year-old's psyche with a truly creepy lizard-like Gollum (voiced by the legendary comedian Brother Theodore). And let us not forget that final battle with the evil dragon Smaug. "I am strong, Strong, STRONG!" [More]

Stars including Paris Hilton, Jared Leto, LOTR pals Billy Boyd and Elijah Wood were forced to party in the streets of Deer Valley, Utah, on Sunday morning after a SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL party was shut down. Party organisers were forced to turn everyone out into the cold after a fire alarm sounded, leaving the celebrities dancing in the streets at 3am. [More]

As is often the case with Sideshow/Weta Collectibles Lord of the Rings statues these days, they have a tendency of selling out rather quickly. Sideshow/Weta posted the Pippin, Guard of the Citadel statue for pre-order today, and sales were so brisk, their website was down for a bit. Its now back and pre-orders are continuing. With only 2,000 pieces worldwide, this one will not last long! [Click Here]

Actors Len Cariou, Gregory Hines, Ian McKellen, Brian Murray and Estelle Parsons, playwright A.R. Gurney, designer Santo Loquasto and producer Elizabeth Ireland McCann will be inducted into The Theater Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place in the North Rotunda of the Gershwin Theatre. The winners were chosen by 350 voting members of the Theater Hall or Fame and the American Theater Critics Association. [More]

From contactmusic.com: Hollywood star Naomi Watts is certain fans will accept Andy Serkis as KING KONG in the forthcoming remake - because his ability to capture a gorilla's behaviour has astounded her. Watts is currently filming the movie in New Zealand, and has been left amazed by the efforts of Serkis, who played GOLLUM in the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy. [More]

Sean Astin's latest film 'Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School' will premiere today at the Sundance Film Festival. Thre film also stars Robert Carlyle and Marisa Tomei, it was filmed not too far from the ORC convention center in Pasadena, Caifornia. [Sundance.com]

Ian Holm's latest film 'Strangers With Candy' will premiere tonight at the Sundance Film Festival today (11:30PM Library Center Theatre). The film is a prequel to the critically acclaimed series featuring Jerri Blank, a 46 year-old ex-junkie, ex-con who returns to high school in a bid to start her life over. [Sundance.com]

Pam Grady writes: Two and a half years ago, producer Cliff Broadway and director Carlene Cordova were in the middle of a project interviewing the stars and makers of The Lord of the Rings trilogy for the LOTR fan site TheOneRing.net. The digital segments were meant as a special treat for the movies' fans, but Broadway and Cordova soon realized there was a bigger phenomenon at work. [More]

The guys over at action-figure.com write: A-F reader Phil, passes on information on some additional Lord of the Rings gift sets that could be coming you way in 2005. These MAY be for the international market only. Take a look! Battle of Shelob's Lair Gift Pack, The Burden of the Ring Bearers Gift Pack, The Return of the White Wizard (Gandalf) Gift Pack, The Battle of the Mines of Moria Gift Pack...and more! [More]

A fresh hunt is underway in New Zealand for hobbits, dwarves, trolls and elves as auditions begin for the stage adaptation of The Hobbit, based on the book by JRR Tolkien. The world premiere of the stage show will be held on April 16 at Wellington's Westpac St James Theatre, Hobbit Productions announced in a statement today. [More]